One of the nation’s largest doctors’ lobbies has retracted its opposition to assisted suicide.

Delegates from the American Academy of Family Physicians, which represents more than 130,000 doctors nationwide, voted to change the group’s stance to “engaged neutrality” on the question of whether physicians should be able to prescribe lethal medications to patients. The resolution was reached at the organization’s Congress of Delegates held last week in New Orleans. AAFP president Michael Munger said in a statement posted to the group’s website that the resolution was designed to help doctors care for their patients.

The Washington, D.C., Department of Health said its assisted-suicide program is designed to protect vulnerable patients, disputing criticism from advocates that it has hampered access to lethal medication.